Answers That Count - Hosted By Charles Musgrove

In this episode, we are joined by attorney Chip Merlin, president of the Merlin Law Group, to provide the nuggets of knowledge about how to file a claim on your Business Interruption policy. Chip has dedicated his career and created his law firm to defend the policy holder, to protect the rights of the 'little guy' in the insurance arena. Chip is the author of Pay Up, which is a collection of experiences he has had with in his practice. A must-read book for sure.

Here are a couple of testimonies from the book.

“Chip Merlin has been a respected industry thought leader for over thirty-five years. I often seek his counsel on property insurance disputes and am confident that the wisdom he imparts in this book will provide great insight and value to consumers.” – Paul Handerhan, Former president, Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters “If anyone knows how to get an insurer to pay up, it’s Chip Merlin, a true policyholder advocate with an unmatched track record of righting insurance wrongs and helping people collect what they are owed.” – Amy Bach, Executive director, United Policyholders “Chip Merlin is a passionate advocate for policyholder rights. His widely read blog is relied upon as a leading national authority for guidance in claims handling and insurance trends. Whenever Chip is writing something about insurance, it should be read by all stakeholders in the insurance industry!” – Holly Soffer, General counsel, American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

“My impetus for writing this book, as well as my blog, is to share some of my knowledge about insurance practices, especially insurance company practices that harm policyholders. Most people simply don’t know much about insurance products, which are one of the most important classes of products all of us purchase. They certainly don’t know, yet fear, what the insurance companies may do when a loss happens and a claim is made. Most people don’t know about how the insurance industry has changed, often for the worse, over the last few decades. They also don’t know about policyholder advocates like me offering resources and recourse for them.” — Pay Up!: Preventing A Disaster With Your Own Insurance Company by Chip Merlin

The following is a link to a blog post suggesting businesses shut down from the Coronavirus should not give up on the possibility of having a claim paid in the future: https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2020/03/articles/insurance/coronavirus-insurance-coverage-update-united-policyholders-says-do-not-give-up-while-georgia-insurance-commissioner-suggests-do-not-waste-your-time/

And a blog link to why people should be careful to select the best insurance agent they can find: https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/2011/06/articles/insurance/choose-insurance-agents-wisely-to-avoid-insurance-coverage-gaps/